Partnerships Column

The president of New York State's largest teacher organization this
month proposed a five-point partnership plan to move business-education
relationships beyond what he sees as rhetoric and into constructive
action.

Thomas Y. Hobart, president of New York State United Teachers,
implored business leaders to support school-restructuring efforts by
campaigning for the redistribution of tax dollars to poorer
districts.

To prevent at-risk youths from neglecting schoolwork, he added,
businesses should be more discerning in hiring high-school students for
after-school jobs.

High schools and industry also must work closely to design curricula
that will ensure the teaching of relevant skills for the modern job
market, the union chief argued. In this goal, he included a call for
business policies to reward academic achievement in high school with
such workplace benefits as higher pay.

Mr. Hobart said businesses and educators must formulate a system of
career advancement to ensure that a high-school graduate with no higher
degree will not be stuck in a "dead-end job."

Finally, he said, corporations must establish mentoring programs to
provide positive role models for at-risk children.

The plan was unveiled at a superintendents' conference in Olean,
N.Y.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its tutoring program, The Travelers
insurance company has released a study saying the one-on-one effort has
enhanced language skills, improved oral-reading abilities, and given
more self-confidence to the estimated 1,200 3rd through 6th graders who
have participated in it.

The program currently involves 140 predominantly black and Latino
students from three Hartford, Conn., elementary schools, who get
together with Travelers employees once a week for structured academic
assignments and informal interaction.

The study, conducted by the University of Connecticut in Storrs,
recommends greater coordination between school and business
administrators, better record keeping to quantify results, and more
thorough training for tutors in minority-student issues.

In the first venture of its kind, the Republic of Zimbabwe has
"adopted" a District of Columbia elementary school.

A formal ceremony sealed the pact when the Zimbabwean ambassador,
Stanaslaus Chigwedere, and Erasmo Garza, principal of Ross Elementary
School, signed a pact that includes a mentoring program, embassy
visits, and possible student exchanges between the southern African
nation and Ross.--jw

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